Octopus saving sessions

Spoonie_Turtle

t0rt0ise said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

t0rt0ise said:

Netexporter said:

SuzeQStan said:

Netexporter said:

My fridge and freezer are now permanently on a timer, so go off for both the morning and evening peaks. Doesn't help my Octopoint score, but I'm making an ongoing saving that should more than make up for it.

I rather enjoy switching nearly everything off and sitting in the firelight for an hour or so.

How long do you leave them off each day for?

Two blocks of 3 hours. 06:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 19:00.

Sounds dangerous, foodwise. That's long enough for some foods to grow bacteria and doing it over and over makes it even more likely.

Only if you leave the door open long enough for the inside to warm up, or put warm food in to raise the temperature inside. 

All official info I could find says food inside a fridge is good for 4 hours if you keep it closed.  24-48 hours in a freezer (half-full / full).

If the fridge isn't warming up in three hours then it won't come on in normal use so no point in turning the power off. If it does warm up and the fridge normally cycles during three hours then it's not good for some foods. Some will be fine, some will not. Surely the idea of a fridge is to keep the contents at a constant temperature.

So don't open the door.  They are supposed to be well insulated enough that the temperature won't change enough to cause problems. 

There's a safe temperature range; if someone has it right at the higher end then maybe they're flirting with danger turning it off for a few hours, but if not it should be fine - food has to both warm up to the danger zone AND be there long enough for bacteria to grow to unsafe levels.  Going by the official information that shouldn't happen until after the fourth hour, unless it's a really badly insulated fridge and/or you keep opening the door (or leave it open) long enough to significantly affect the temperature inside.

I see what you mean that it is a higher risk if someone keeps doing it, but hopefully they keep their fridge below the maximum safe temperature and don't open the door.  Having seven hours between each session should be more than enough time to return and sit at the safe temperature in between. 

I maybe wouldn't think it wise during a summer heatwave though!

masonic

t0rt0ise said:

Netexporter said:

SuzeQStan said:

Netexporter said:

My fridge and freezer are now permanently on a timer, so go off for both the morning and evening peaks. Doesn't help my Octopoint score, but I'm making an ongoing saving that should more than make up for it.

I rather enjoy switching nearly everything off and sitting in the firelight for an hour or so.

How long do you leave them off each day for?

Two blocks of 3 hours. 06:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 19:00.

Sounds dangerous, foodwise. That's long enough for some foods to grow bacteria and doing it over and over makes it even more likely.

A closed fridge should be able to survive a power cut of 12 hours without reaching unsafe temperatures, and a freezer should be able to survive longer than that. I had to have my house rewired and it was a 10 hour job. I checked both my appliances at the end just before the power came back on and the temperature inside was still fine.

If your appliances are warming up that quickly, it suggests they would be worth replacing with more energy efficient models.

t0rt0ise

masonic said:

t0rt0ise said:

Netexporter said:

SuzeQStan said:

Netexporter said:

My fridge and freezer are now permanently on a timer, so go off for both the morning and evening peaks. Doesn't help my Octopoint score, but I'm making an ongoing saving that should more than make up for it.

I rather enjoy switching nearly everything off and sitting in the firelight for an hour or so.

How long do you leave them off each day for?

Two blocks of 3 hours. 06:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 19:00.

Sounds dangerous, foodwise. That's long enough for some foods to grow bacteria and doing it over and over makes it even more likely.

A closed fridge should be able to survive a power cut of 12 hours without reaching unsafe temperatures, and a freezer should be able to survive longer than that. I had to have my house rewired and it was a 10 hour job. I checked both my appliances at the end just before the power came back on and the temperature inside was still fine.

Well, I wouldn't do it over and over. Good luck to you.

Netexporter

I once had a freezer break down and couldn't get a replacement delivered for about a week. I opened it every day, to eat up as much stuff as possible, and things were still frozen when I finally emptied it. And that was an old freezer; they much better insulated these days.

I find science more reliable than the bolleaux that find on the internet.

masonic

t0rt0ise said:

masonic said:

t0rt0ise said:

Netexporter said:

SuzeQStan said:

Netexporter said:

My fridge and freezer are now permanently on a timer, so go off for both the morning and evening peaks. Doesn't help my Octopoint score, but I'm making an ongoing saving that should more than make up for it.

I rather enjoy switching nearly everything off and sitting in the firelight for an hour or so.

How long do you leave them off each day for?

Two blocks of 3 hours. 06:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 19:00.

Sounds dangerous, foodwise. That's long enough for some foods to grow bacteria and doing it over and over makes it even more likely.

A closed fridge should be able to survive a power cut of 12 hours without reaching unsafe temperatures, and a freezer should be able to survive longer than that. I had to have my house rewired and it was a 10 hour job. I checked both my appliances at the end just before the power came back on and the temperature inside was still fine.

Well, I wouldn't do it over and over. Good luck to you.

If there is any concern, you can buy battery-powered digital thermometers designed to be stuck on the fridge or freezer with a probe slotted through the trim of the door, which can sound an alarm if it gets too warm inside. But there is more chance of spoilage transporting food home from the shop than for 3 hours in an unpowered fridge starting from a sensibly low temperature. It is not a practice I engage in at the same frequency as Netexporter because I'm not on a TOU tariff, but do turn off for Saving Sessions, which run for a maximum of 90 minutes.

SuzeQStan

Netexporter said:

Wow I would be scared to do that but good on you!

Why, the internal temperature hardly varies.

Because as I said I would be scared to do it - each to their own right?

Slinky

It would be interesting to stick the fridge and freezer on a Tapo plug and see how much they're using over 24 hours, comparing how much it's using when being used normally, and on Netexporter's switched off cycle.

mmmmikey

Slinky said:

It would be interesting to stick the fridge and freezer on a Tapo plug and see how much they're using over 24 hours, comparing how much it's using when being used normally, and on Netexporter's switched off cycle.

I tried just that some time ago, switching off my fridge and freezer for 4 hours overnight whilst monitoring the temperature and energy use. The temperature did rise over that period, but only by a degree or so and not enough for me to worry about, although it should be pointed out that this was in the autumn with the freezer in a cold garage and the fridge in a coolish kitchen. The fridge energy consumption increased by about 5% but the freezer energy consumption barely changed. All this is from memory - I'll dig out the exact figures if anyone is interested.

masonic

Slinky said:

It would be interesting to stick the fridge and freezer on a Tapo plug and see how much they're using over 24 hours, comparing how much it's using when being used normally, and on Netexporter's switched off cycle.

Yes, that would be very interesting. I'd expect slightly higher consumption for the latter as there will be more lag in the thermostat in the extended cycles. Question is whether the pricing difference wins out. In the case you're being paid £2.25+/kWh saved, it surely will. As you decrease the price difference into the pennies, there will come a point where it will not.

Netexporter

Off peak Agile is less than half peak Agile prices, so even if the compressor runs a bit longer to bring the temperature back to normal, it's still a win every day.